[The following sermon is taken from volume II:155-165
of The Sermons of Martin Luther, published by Baker Book House (Grand Rapids,
MI). It was originally published in 1906 in English by Lutherans in All
Lands Press (Minneapolis, MN), as The Precious and Sacred Writings of Martin
Luther, vol. 11. This e-text was scanned and edited by Richard Bucher,
it is in the public domain and it may be copied and distributed without
restriction.]

I. CHRIST'S DEFENSE AGAINST HIS BLASPHEMERS.

1. This is a beautiful Gospel from which we learn many different things,
and in which nearly everything is set forth as to what Christ, his kingdom
and his Gospel are: what they accomplish and how they fare in the world.
In the first place, like all the Gospels this one teaches us faith and
love; for it presents Christ to us as a most loving Saviour and Helper
in every need and tells us that he who believes this is saved. For we see
here that Christ had nothing to do with people who were healthy, but with
a poor man who was greatly afflicted with many ills. He was blind, as Matthew
says; also dumb and possessed with a demon, as Luke tells us here. Now
all mutes are also deaf, so that in the Greek language deaf and dumb are
one word. By this act Christ draws us to himself, leads us to look to him
for every blessing, and to go to him in every time of need. He does this
that we also, according to the nature of love, should do unto others as
he does unto us. This is the universal and the most precious doctrine of
this Gospel and of all the Gospels throughout the church year. This poor
man, however, did not come to Christ without the Word; for those who brought
him to Christ must have heard his love preached and were moved thereby
to trust in him. We learn therefore that faith comes through the Word;
but more of this elsewhere.

2. Secondly, it is here demonstrated how Christ and his Gospel fare
in the world, namely, that there are three kinds of hearers. Some marvel
at him; these are pious and true Christians, who consider this deed so
great that they are amazed at it. Some blaspheme the Gospel; these are
the Pharisees and scribes, who were vexed because they could not do the
like, and were worried lest the people should hold Christ in higher esteem
than themselves. Some tempt him, like Herod desired a sign after his own
heart, that they may make sport of it. But he answers both parties; at
first, the blasphemers in this Gospel, and later on the tempters, saying
that no sign shall be given this wicked generation except the sign of the
prophet Jonah, of which we read in the verses following. He answers the
blasphemers in a friendly way and argues five points with them.

3. In the first place, with honest and reasonable arguments he concludes
from two comparisons that one devil cannot cast out another; for if that
were so, the devils would be divided among themselves and Satan's kingdom
would indeed not stand. For nature teaches that if a kingdom is divided
against itself and its citizens drive out each other, it is not necessary
to go to war against it, for it will come to ruin soon enough of itself.
Likewise a house divided against itself needs no other destruction. Even
the heathen author Sallust, teaching only from the light of nature and
experience, says: "Great wealth passes away through discord, but through
concord small means become large." If now the devils were divided among
themselves to such a degree that one should drive out the other, Satan's
dominion would be at an end, and we would have rest from his attacks.

4. What then were these blasphemers able to say to such clear arguments?
They were put to silence, but their hearts were hardened, so that they
did not heed his words. A hardened heart will not be instructed, no matter
how plainly and clearly the truth is presented; but the faith of the righteous
is strengthened when they see that the ground of their faith is right and
good. And for the sake of such we must answer those whose hearts are hardened,
and put them to silence. Even though they will not be converted nor keep
silence still it serves to reveal their hardened hearts, for the longer
they talk the more foolish they become, and they are caught in their folly,
and their cause is robbed of the appearance of being right and good, as
Solomon also says in Pr 26,5: "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest
he be wise in his own conceit." That is, answer him according to his folly
that his folly may be put to shame for the sake of others, that they may
not follow him and be deceived, thinking that he is right. Otherwise, where
no such condition exists, it is better to keep silent, as Solomon also
says in the same chapter, verse 4: "Answer not a fool according to his
folly, lest thou also be like unto him."

5. Nor could they say here that the devils only pretended to be divided
among themselves and to yield to one another in order to deceive the people,
for it is publicly seen how they resist and contend, cry and rave, tear
and rage, when they see that Christ means to expel them. It is then clearly
seen that they are opposed to Christ and his Spirit, and they are not united
with him, to whom they must yield so unwillingly. Therefore it is only
a flagrant blasphemous lie, in which they are caught and put to shame,
by which they try in venomous hate to give the devil credit for a work
of God. From this we learn not to be surprised when our doctrine and life
are blasphemed and stubborn hearts will not be convinced nor converted,
although they are overwhelmed, as it were, with tangible truth and completely
put to silence. It is enough that through our arguments their obstinate
folly is revealed, acknowledged and made harmless to pious people, so that
the latter may not be misled by its fine pretension. They may then go whither
they will, they have condemned themselves as St. Paul says, Tit 3, 11.

6. In the second place, he replies with a public example and a similar
work, when he says: "By whom do your sons cast them out?" As if he would
say: "Is this not simple idiocy? Just what you praise in your sons, you
condemn in me. Because your sons do it, it is of God; but because I do
it, it must be of the devil." So it is in this world. What Christ does,
is of the devil; if some one else did it, it would be all right. Thus the
tyrants and enemies of the Gospel do now, when they condemn in us what
they themselves do, confess and teach; but they must proceed thus in order
that their judgment may be publicly approved, when they are condemned by
all justice. The sons, of whom Christ here says that they drive out devils,
were, I think, certain exorcists among the people, for God, from the beginning,
had given this people manifold spiritual gifts and he calls them their
"sons," as though to say: I am the Son of God and must be called a child
of the devil, while those who are your sons, begotten by you, do the same
things and are not to be considered children of the devil.

7. "Therefore shall they be your judges," that is, I appeal to them.
They will be forced to decide that you wrongfully blaspheme me, and thus
condemn yourselves. For if one devil does not drive out another then some
other power must do it that is neither satanic nor human, but divine. Hence
the words: "But if I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the
kingdom of God come upon you." This finger of God is called in Mt 12,28
the Holy Ghost, for the words read thus: "But if I by the Spirit of God
cast out demons," etc. In short, Christ means to say: If the kingdom of
God is to come unto you, the devil must be driven out, for his kingdom
is against God's kingdom, as you yourselves must confess. But demon is
not driven out by demon, much less by men or the power of men, but alone
by the Spirit and power of God.

8. From this follows that where the finger of God does not cast out
the devil, there the devil's kingdom still exists; where Satan's kingdom
still exists, there the kingdom of God cannot be. The unavoidable conclusion
then is that, as long as the Holy Spirit does not enter our hearts, we
are not only incapable of any good, but are of necessity in the kingdom
of Satan. And if we are in his kingdom, then we can do nothing but that
which pleases him, else it could not be called his kingdom. As St. Paul
says to Timothy: "The people are taken captive in the snares of the devil
unto his will" 2 Tim 2,26. How could Satan suffer one of his people to
take a notion to do something against, and not for, his kingdom? Oh, it
is a striking, terrible and powerful statement that Christ here admits
such a dominion, which we cannot escape except by the power of God; and
that the kingdom of God cannot come to us until that kingdom is driven
out by divine, heavenly power.

9. This truth is proved in the case of this poor man, who was bodily
possessed of the devil. Tell me, what could he and all mankind do to free
him from the devil? Without a doubt, nothing. He had to do and suffer just
as his master the devil willed, until Christ came, with the power of God.
Now then, if he could not free himself from the devil as to his body, how
could he, by his own power, deliver his soul from Satan's spiritual dominion?
Especially is this the case since the soul, because possessed of sin, is
the cause of all bodily possession as a punishment, and sins are more difficult
to remove than the punishment of them, and the soul is always more firmly
possessed than the body. This is proved by the fact that the devil permits
the body to have its natural powers and functions; but he robs the soul
of reason, judgment, sense, understanding, and all its powers, as you readily
see in the case of this possessed man.

10. He answers them in the third place, by a comparison taken from life,
namely that of a strong man overcome by one stronger, and robbed of all
his armor and goods etc. By this he testifies also that no one but God
can overcome the devil, so that again no man can boast of being able of
himself to drive out either sin or the devil. Notice how he pictures the
devil! He calls him a mighty giant who guards his court and home, that
is, the devil not only possesses the world as his own domain, but he has
garrisoned and fortified it, so that no one can take it from him. He rules
it also with undisputed sway, so that it does whatever he commands. Just
as little as a house or court may withstand or contend against the tyrant
who is its master, can man's free will and natural powers oppose sin and
Satan, that is, not at all; but they are subject to them. And as that house
must be conquered by a stronger man and thus wrested from the tyrant, so
must man also be ransomed through Christ and wrested from Satan. We see
again, therefore, that our works and righteousness contribute absolutely
nothing toward our salvation; it is effected alone by the grace of God.

11. He answers them fourthly, with pointed proverbs and teachings, as:
"He that is not with me is against me," and, "He that gathereth not with
me, scattereth." "The devil is not with me for I drive him out, hence he
must of necessity be against me." But this saying does not apply to the
devil alone, but also to the blasphemers whom he here convicts and condemns,
as being against him since they are not for him. "To be with Christ" is
to have the same mind and purpose as Christ, that is, to believe in Christ
that his works save us and not our own, for this is what Christ holds and
teaches. But "to gather with Christ" is to do good out of love to him,
and to become rich in good works. He that does not believe is, by his own
free will, not with Christ but against him, because he depends upon his
own works. Therefore, he that does not love, does not gather with Christ,
but by fruitless works becomes only more sinful and drifts farther and
farther from the faith.

12. In the fifth place, he answers with a threat, namely, that the last
state always is worse than the first. Therefore we should take heed that
we not only refrain from blaspheming the Gospel and Christ, who does such
great things for us and drives the devil out of us; but with zeal and fear
hold fast to them, in order that we may not become possessed of seven worse
devils whereas one possessed us before. For thus it was with the Jews,
who had never been so wicked as while the Gospel was being preached to
them. So also under the papacy, we have become seven times, (that is, many
times) worse heathen under the name of Christ than we ever had been before;
as St. Peter says: "The last state is become worse with them than the first."
2 Pet 2,20. And if we neglect the great light which we now have, it will
come to pass in our case also, that we shall become worse than we were
before, for the devil does not slumber. This should be sufficient warning.

13. Finally, when the woman cries out to Christ and praises him, saying,
"Blessed is the mother that bore such a son," etc., he opposes her carnal
worship and takes occasion to teach all of us the substance of this Gospel,
namely, that we should not go gaping after the works or merits of the saints
but rather see to it that we hear and keep the Word of God. For it does
not concern or profit us in the least to know how holy and honorable the
mother of this child might be, nor how noble this Son of hers may be; but
rather what this Son has done for us, namely that, by grace, without any
merit or worthiness on our part, he has redeemed us from the devil. This
fact is proclaimed to us through the Word of God, and this we are to hear
and hold in firm faith; then shall we too be blessed like this mother and
her child.

Although such a Word and work will be blasphemed, we should suffer it
and give an answer with meekness, as St. Peter teaches, for the improvement
of others.

II. THE ALLEGORICAL OR SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THIS GOSPEL.

14. This dumb, deaf, blind, and demon-possessed man represents all the
children of Adam, who through the flesh are possessed of Satan in original
sin, so that they must be his slaves and do according to his will. Hence
they are also blind, that is, they do not see God. They are deaf, for they
do not hear God's Word, and are not obedient or submissive to it. They
are also dumb, for they do not give him one word of thanks or praise, nor
do they preach and proclaim Christ and the grace of God. But they are all
too talkative about the teachings of the devil and the opinions of men.
In these things they see only too well and are wiser than the children
of light in their undertakings, opinions, and desires. In these things
they hear with both ears and readily adopt the suggestions of flesh and
blood. So then, whatever we do, in word and deed, as to both body and soul,
is of the devil, whether it be externally good or bad, and must be redeemed
through the work of God. We are in his kingdom and therefore we acknowledge
him, see, hear, and follow him and praise and proclaim his name. All this
takes place through the Spirit of God in his Word, which casts out the
devil and his kingdom.

15. The Jews called the chief of the devils Beelzebub. The Hebrew word
"sebub" means a fly; "baal" or "beel," a man or ruler, as a householder.
When the two words form a combination, they mean an arch-fly or chief-fly,
or, in plain German "Fliegenkoenig oder grosse Hummel," that is, king-fly
or the great-drone. They gave Satan this contemptuous epithet as though
they were entirely free from him, secure against him, and lords over him.
That is the way all conceited, corrupt hypocrites do; they imagine they
are so pure and holy, that the devil is a helpless, feeble fly compared
with them, and that they do not need the grace of Christ nor the Word of
God. Still they think he is strong enough for others, yet, that whatever
godfearing people teach and do must be the devil's own work, and they consider
it such a trifling thing as though it were a dead fly. The devil can well
endure such contempt, for by it he is placed above the true God in their
hearts.

16. The tyrant in the court or palace is the devil, as I said before.
He is in peace, however, as long as God's Word and finger do not oppose
him, and just like this deaf mute, his people do whatever he wishes, for
they know no better. His weapons and armor are the carnal conceit, doctrines
and traditions of men, by which he terrifies the conscience and protects
himself.

17. But when the stronger man, the Gospel, comes, peace flees, and he
rages like a madman, for he resents being condemned, unmasked, punished,
and publicly branded. Then he gathers up his armor, the powerful, wise,
rich and holy people, and sets them all to attacking God's Word, as we
see in the persecution of the teachers of the Gospel. Such rage and persecution
signify that the devil retires very unwillingly and raves in his whole
body; for as he acts in the body and its members when he must depart, so
he also behaves in the whole world, resisting with all his power when he
is to give place to the Gospel; but it is all in vain, he must be expelled.

18. For a Stronger One, that is, Christ, comes and overpowers him and
takes away his whole armor, that is, he converts some of those same persecutors,
and to that extent makes him weaker, and his own kingdom stronger. He divides
the spoils too, that is, those he converts he uses for various offices,
graces, and works in Christendom, of which Paul writes in Rom 12,6. He
is also in the court yard or ante-room of the palace, for the devil's kingdom
consists in outward appearances and pretenses of wisdom, holiness, and
strength; but when it is captured by the Gospel it is found to consist
of pure folly, sin and weakness.

19. The text continues, "When the unclean spirit has gone out, he wanders
through dry places, seeking rest," etc. This means as much as the saying,
"The devil never takes a vacation" and "The devil never sleeps," for he
is seeking how he may devour man. "Dry places" are not the hearts of the
ungodly, for in such he rests and dwells like a mighty tyrant, as the Gospel
here says; but there are dry and waste places here and there in the country
where no people live, as forests and wildernesses. To these he flees in
wicked rage because he is driven out. You will remember that the devil
found Christ in the wilderness. Now, in Judea, there is not much water,
hence we read that it contains many and wastes. In other countries, however,
as in our own, which are well watered, the devils stay in rivers and lakes,
and there they sometimes drown those who bathe or sail upon them. Furthermore,
at some places there are water spirits, who entice the children from the
shores into the water and drown them. These are all devils.

20. That he comes again and finds the house swept and garnished (Matthew
adds "empty") signifies that the man is sanctified and adorned with beautiful
spiritual gifts, and that the evil spirit clearly sees that he can do nothing
there with his familiar tricks, for he is too well known. Thus when the
worship of idols was driven from the heathen, he never attacked the world
with that device again. But what did he do then? He tried something else,
went out, took with him seven spirits, more evil than himself, and entered
in with them and dwelt there, and the last state of that man was worse
than the first. So he has dealt with us. When Christ had become known in
the world and the devil's former kingdom with its idol worship had been
destroyed, he adopted another plan and attacked us with heresy and introduced
and established the papacy, in which Christ was entirely forgotten, and
men became worse heathen under the name of Christ than before he was preached,
as we can see now with our own eyes. Such also was the lot of the Jews
after the destruction of Jerusalem, and of the Greeks under the Turks.
And so all will fare, who at first hear the Word of God and afterwards
become secure and weary of it. St. Matthew says, in Mt 12, 14, that Satan
finds the house empty. And in Mt 13, 25, he sowed tares among the wheat,
by night, while men slept. Therefore it is necessary for us to watch as
the apostles always admonish us, especially St. Peter in 1 Pet 5, 3: "Brethren,
be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour"; for wherever he overthrows faith, he
easily restores again all former vices.